In a move which is likely to vitiate the political atmosphere ahead of the scheduled NSA level talks between the two countries, Pakistan High Commission has invited Kashmiri separatist leaders for a meeting with its NSA Sartaj Aziz during his upcoming India visit.

New Delhi: In a move which is likely to vitiate the political atmosphere ahead of the scheduled NSA level talks between the two countries, Pakistan High Commission has invited Kashmiri separatist leaders for a meeting with its NSA Sartaj Aziz during his upcoming India visit.

Media reports on Wednesday claimed that the Pakistan High Commission's invite has gone to key leaders of the Hurriyat, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Nayeem Khan and Yasin Malik.

Recently, the Pak High Commission had invited the separatists for a Eid Milan. While Hurriyat chairman Geelani and JKLF supremo rejected the invite citing ignoring of Kashmir issue in the joint statement of PM Modi and Nawaz Sharief at Ufa Russia, Mirwaiz attended the Eid Milan.

The invite to the separatists will also be seen in the context of a series of unpleasant developments in the country, which the NDA government sees as “provocations” from Pakistan ahead of the talks.

Indian Army has accused Pakistani troops of deliberately targeting the border posts in Jammu and Poonch and violating the ceasefire. In an alarming escalation of the cross-border firing, 120 mm mortar shells were fired from the Pakistan side that left six civilians dead on Independence Day last Saturday. Recent terrorist attacks in Gurdaspur and Udhampur are also being seen as an attempt to ratchet up tensions between the two countries.